


the simple comfort of being together

by angstandcaffeine



Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/F, set during cold winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-25
Updated: 2020-01-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:53:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22315117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angstandcaffeine/pseuds/angstandcaffeine
Summary: a pattern to keep your drink warm through a long night:a pot of tea, turned twicea quartered pageand a wooden spoon, placed corner to cornerSunder and Rosana find comfort and strength in each other.
Relationships: Sunder Havelton/Rosana
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9
Collections: Secret Samol 2019





	the simple comfort of being together

**Author's Note:**

  * For [serj](https://archiveofourown.org/users/serj/gifts).



Sunder looked out her window at the already dimming sunlight and sighed, deeply. She had told herself she was going to get through the next section of the Book of Life tonight, but with her hands and mind preoccupied, the hours had slipped away. She stretched and took one last look at the snow covered tree tops. Then she turned away from the window. Back to work. 

She went to her desk, one that she had hauled in from another room upstairs, intent on getting started with her work. She sat down in the mismatched wooden chair and shivered. It was cold, too cold to work, but then again it was always cold these days. She put her head in her hands on the desk. Maybe she needed another cup of tea first. Then she’d be able to study.

She headed to her kitchen — or, more accurately, the corner of the room with counter space and a basic stove. Sunder had been given permission to take up residence in a room that fell somewhere between a dormitory and a studio apartment. Her best guess was that it had probably once been intended for student teachers. She rummaged around, finding the ingredients — or the closest substitutes — to make her favorite tea. She hummed to herself as she began to work, slowly mixing tea leaves and herbs and spices.

Her humming grew to singing, an old drinking song she had picked up from a bar in the Buoy, until she was interrupted by a knock on the door. “Come in,” she called.

Rosana greeted her with a smile. “You don’t have to stop your song for me.” 

“Oh no, you could hear me?”

Rosana made her way through the small apartment, dodging piles of books and boxes with an ease. Once she had finally made her way to Sunder’s side, she pressed a kiss to her cheek as a greeting. “Barely, don’t worry.” She looked down at what Sunder was doing and her brow furrowed. “Is... that magic?”

Sunder laughed. “No, dear, it’s just tea.”

Rosana smiled, a small blush forming on her cheeks. “Okay. I was going to say, I didn’t know potions were in your repertoire.”

“Potions, no.” Sunder returned her attention to the pot on the stove. “Never had the patience for them.”

“But you’ve tried them before, yeah?”

“Of course.” She grinned. “Never met a branch of magic I wouldn’t try.”

“Not even divine magic?” she smirked.

“I would try it if I could. I just don’t think any of them like me enough to let me.”

Rosana laughed. “No, I suppose you don’t seem like the worshipper type.”

“Oh, whatever gave you that idea?” They giggled for a moment. “But no, Rosana, I’m just making some tea. I’m probably going to be up late tonight, so I needed something strong.” The tea had been brewing for a few minutes now, and the spices bloomed in the air. Warmth began to fill the room, not just from the heat of the stove, but from cinnamon and clove.

“Again?” Rosana placed her hand on the small of her back. “You’re allowed to rest, you know.”

“So are you, and yet, where have you been all day?”

“Well, I’m finished now.” Rosana rubbed her back slightly. “I’m just worried about you, Sunder.”

“There’s nothing to worry about. I’m okay. I don’t want to be another thing on your plate.”

“You’re not just something on my plate.” Rosana didn’t raise her voice, but it did become sharper. “I care about you, Sunder, you know that.”

Sunder took a deep breath. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright.” Rosana’s eyes softened again.

Sunder tilted her head, resting it on Rosana’s. “There really is nothing to worry about. I promise.”

“Okay. I trust you.”

Those words meant everything to Sunder. With the world the way it was — full of blizzards and stars and the heat and the dark — trust was all they had these days.

And, for now, magic.

“Will you help me with something?” Sunder brightened, straightening up.

“What is it?”

“A pattern. Probably the first one I ever learned.”

For maybe the first time in the three years Sunder had known Rosana, the woman was visibly nervous. “I don’t know. I’m not the magician in my family. Hadrian could sometimes perform miracles through Samothes, and Benjamin is becoming quite the wizard under your teachings, but I doubt that it’s for me.”

“And why not?”

She took a breath. “I think I’m too focused on what is in front of me, rather than what could be. Thinking about the present, rather than reflecting on the past or getting distracted by the future. There’s so much to do right now.”

Sunder laughed. “Pattern magic is about right now. It’s about using what’s available to you to change your current state— at least, that’s what it should be about. You start using it to manipulate too much, to control your future, and you end up with…” She trailed off and sighed, then shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that anyone can perform a pattern, so long as they know the pattern.”

Rosana sighed. “Okay, I’ll try it.”

“Great. The first piece of the pattern is a pot of tea, turned twice.”

Rosana reached for the spoon, but Sunder shook her head.

“No, we have to turn the pot. You have to spin the whole pot around two times.”

She laughed. “Really?”

“Yep. Welcome to pattern magic.”

Rosana rolled her eyes and spun the pot around two times. “Next?”

“In the bottom drawer, there should be a couple scraps of paper. Grab one and fold it into quarters.”

“Okay.” She did so, with neat folds.

“Then you grab the wooden spoon and put it on top of the paper, diagonally.”

“Okay, next?”

“No, that’s it.”

Rosana eyed the pot of tea, the spoon, and then looked back up at Sunder. “...Nothing happened.”

“Exactly.”

Rosana raised an eyebrow.

“It’s a quick pattern with a small effect. The tea used in the pattern will never go cold.”

Rosana laughed. “Seriously?”

“Absolutely.” Sunder pulled two mugs off of the shelf and poured them each a cup. By the time she turned back around, Rosana had begun straining the tea — working together without having to say a word, as they often found themselves. Sunder grabbed the honey next, dropping one spoonful into her tea and two in Rosana’s. She always took her tea sweet and her coffee bitter, a fact Sunder never understood, but was happy to remember.

“How on earth did you learn something like that?” Rosana asked as she led them to Sunder’s couch.

“It’s one of the few patterns that made its way from the Archives to the University when I studied there. Mages hate pattern magic, but there’s a common need between them and archivists for hot tea during late nights of studying.”

Rosana sipped her tea. “Does this work for anything else? Could we use it for our soups? Serving so many people, it would be really helpful if we could guarantee that everyone would get a warm meal.”

Sunder bumped her shoulder. “See, there you go, already thinking like a mage. How can I make this spell better? How can I use this pattern to do more?” She grinned.

“Is that a bad thing?”

“Of course not. In smart and capable hands such as yours, that kind of thinking saves lives.” And Sunder took one of those hands in hers, brushing her thumb over Rosana’s. Rosana leaned into her, shifting her weight and pressing her head into Sunder’s shoulder.

They stayed like that for a while, close and quiet, reveling in the simple comfort of being together.

After many minutes, Rosana broke the silence. “Tomorrow, you’re going to help me figure out if this pattern works on soup. But no more work tonight.”

Sunder laughed. “All right. But I don’t really know how to make soup.”

“That’s okay.” Rosana shifted to set down her cup and look her in the eye, and she smiled. “Now I have something to teach you.”

“So what, we’ll just go back and forth, trading lessons?”

“You’ve had worse ideas.”

That made Sunder snort. “I’ll teach you the dandelion trick next if you show me how to make those rolls you made last week.”

“I’ll definitely take you up on that.” Rosana’s deep brown eyes flicked down to Sunder’s lips. Sunder took a moment to grin before closing the little distance between them. She kissed her softly, slowly, wrapping her arms around Rosana to hold her steady. Rosana was a wonder to have around, and she did her best to remind her of that every chance she got.

And many kisses later, Sunder watched Rosana pick her cup of tea back up and realize that her magic had worked, and there was nothing Sunder wanted to do more than sit there, sip her own cup of tea, and beam proudly.

**Author's Note:**

> happy secret samol!!!!!! it was such a joy to see that you had requested this pairing, i love these ladies so much. i hope you like it!!


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